The role of agriculture in chemical soil degradation of Taleghan

Iran with its special geographical position mainly has an arid and semi-arid climate. The average annual rainfall in Iran is about 240 mm equivalent to one-fourth of the world average rainfall. In addition, irregular spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall has caused problems in natural resources and agriculture and annually huge amount of our water and soil resources are degraded. Since the advent of the farming activities until the present, human needs have been based upon farming activities. Considering the growing population and the social and economic developments, most of rangelands have been subject to rainfed cultivation. Therefore, to prevent further degradation of soil in these regions research should be conducted on agricultural lands and the exploitation methods. For this reason, Taleghan was selected as the study area. Map of the area, including soil maps, land types and the current land use were produced by GIS. After determining the main treatments, soil samples were taken in every part of the area and in agricultural area and soil factors were measured within two groups of soil improvement factors including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, humus and lime and soil degradation factors including acidity, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and salinity in two depths of 0-10 and >10 cm. These factors were studied in a split-plot design. The results showed significant differences among treatments. According to the results of soil improvement and degradation factors, orchards and rangelands are in an ideal condition and monoculture treatment decreases the performance of the products.